Strange Hobbies and Their Repercussions
My husband looks down at my foot, up at me, and then back at my foot.
“How did this happen?” David asks, pointing to the big toe where I am missing the “top half” of my toe nail.
“Jiu jitsu on Tuesday, I caught my toes on the mat when we were practicing elbow escapes. I heard it snap and I knew I was going to lose it. It’s kind of cool, though. It’s my first real martial arts injury.”
David sighs. “This is going to be so much worse than cake decorating, isn’t it?”
Now, to be fair, he has some reason to be worried. My hands are covered with scars of various sizes from the years I spent decorating cakes as a hobby. I burned my wrists getting the cakes out of the oven. I cut my fingertips with knives and fondant sculpting tools. Between the injuries, the cursing and the fine layer of Crisco and powdered sugar coating our kitchen, David finally put his foot down and told me I had to choose between cakes and writing books. And the books were just a little bit more profitable.
On the other hand, David, a black belt who has been practicing karate since he was 15, once knocked himself unconscious with a nungchuk. So I don’t think he has a lot of room to talk.
I’ve always had slightly strange hobbies, playing the tuba in the high school band, cake decorating, analyzing and mocking badly made mutant shark movies. And these fascinations have left their marks on me. I started Brazilian jiu jitsu lessons a few months ago because I wanted to add another layer of activity to my fitness plan. I’ve wanted to try martial arts for years, but thought it would be best for my marriage not to put myself in the position of being instructed (read: constantly corrected) by my husband. So I went with a completely different style at a different school.
By the end of the first lesson, I found that I really enjoyed learning the physics and physiology behind the various maneuvers. I liked knowing that if some crazy stranger tried to sucker punch me, I would know what to do. (I don’t know what sort of life decisions hypothetical me would make that lead to being sucker punched, but it’s important to be prepared.) And I came up with an idea for a contemporary series based on my experience.
By the end of the second lesson, I had kicked myself in the shin hard enough to leave a bruise.
It’s OK, though. I still have nine toenails left.
So does anyone else here have slightly off-center hobbies? (Also, am I the only one out there whose hobbies are putting her on the injured list?)
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